Happy Casual Smex Friday! As usual today you’re encouraged to sit back, relax and get smexy. Remember that Smex day posts consist of the following four segments.
1.) The Quickie- For those of you who only have time for some quick relief.
2.) The Afternoon Delight- For the reader who wants a little foreplay before smexing.
3.) The Midnight Grind-For those of you who want to go beyond foreplay and get to main show.
4.) The After Glow Strut- For those of you not afraid to show your love and go for another round.
Today I’m bringing you an interview with the smexily quirky and spook loving Jordan Hawk. So dim the lights and silence that phone and let’s get the smexing started!
The Quickie…
Stats: Jordan L. Hawk grew up in the wilds of North Carolina, where she was raised on stories of haints and mountain magic by her bootlegging granny. After using a silver knife in the light of a full moon to summon her true love, she turned her talents to spinning tales. She weaves together couples who need to fall in love, then throws in some evil sorcerers and undead just to make sure they want it bad enough. In Jordan’s world, love might conquer all, but it just as easily could end up in the grave.
Latest Release: Hainted
Genre: M/M Paranormal Romance
Hainted Blurb: The Good Guy: Haint-working runs in Dan Miller’s blood. Not everyone can help the restless dead cross over, especially when the haunting threatens the Living. But the death of his parents six years ago forced Dan to give it up in exchange for raising his brother and sister, all the while struggling to keep their rural NC farm afloat. So when the flamboyantly goth Leif Helsvin shows up on Dan’s doorstep looking for help with an evil necromancer named Runar, Dan’s first instinct is to turn him down. With two teenagers to look after, he’s already got all the trouble he can handle. Besides, the sexy Leif is too much of a temptation, and Dan is firmly in the closet.
The Bad Boy: Pierced, tattooed Leif never has sex with the same guy twice. It keeps things simple, especially since his oath to stop Runar has him constantly drifting from one town to the next. But this time, it looks like Leif is going to need help, in the form of the very down-to-earth Dan. Since Nice Guys are off the menu, Leif just has to keep his hands to himself for as long as it will take to stop Runar’s latest scheme. But as Leif finds himself drawn deeper into Dan’s life, he quickly realizes he’s not just in danger of breaking the rules, but breaking his heart as well.
Smex Quotient: Don’t let this cold haint filled world fool you. There is no doubt that you will break a sweat here. These two hot, spook fighting men can heat up any room and will have you begging for some ghost busting of your own. Who are you gonna call? Hmmm 1-800-HAINTme!
The Afternoon Delight…
School a city slicker here and tell me what is a haint? Why did you decide to build your book around them?
Jordan: “Haint” is an Appalachian term meaning “ghost,” if it’s used as a noun, or “haunt” if it’s a verb. So to be hainted is to be haunted.
When I set out to write a paranormal romance, I wanted to feature one of the less-used paranormal creatures and to give the book a southern flavor. Most southern PNRs take place in Louisiana, which is very different from the part of the south where I grew up. I eventually hit on the idea of a pair of sexy guys whose job is to put the unquiet dead to rest—by any means necessary. Given the area the book takes place in, Dan would naturally refer to them as “haints.”
Dan and Leif have some pretty explosive chemistry. What was your inspiration for their first love scene?
Jordan: Thank you! They’re attracted to each other from the beginning, but they both have reasons not to act on it. Dan is legitimately worried he’ll lose custody of his brother and sister if people find out he’s gay. Leif is a bit more complicated: he has serious baggage and sees himself as tainted by his past. Both of them are determined not to give in to desire, but they’re in a pressure cooker: working together, staying in the same house, and regularly ending up in intense situations. I just kept turning up the heat until something had to give!
I love that you made Dan both a brother and a father figure. If he could give his siblings any advice about love, what would it be? How about Leif's?
Jordan: Dan, being Mr. Responsible Guy, would probably say something about not confusing sex and love. Leif would tell them that things don’t always work out, but not to let past mistakes keep them from future happiness.
You blended smex, haints and magic incredibly well in this book. What was your most difficult scene to write and which one is your favorite?
Jordan: The most difficult scene was when Dan comes to find Leif in Asheville, which leads up to their first really romantic encounter. I must have rewritten that bit a dozen times! It’s a pivotal moment for their relationship, so the pacing and feel had to be just right.
As for favorite…hmm, that’s a tough one. I really like pay-offs; I struggle through setting up all the pieces, but I love knocking them down. The scene I mentioned above, which I wrestled with so much, is probably one of my favorites because all the sexual and emotional tension up to that point finally pays off!
The Midnight Grind…
Assume the position and brace yourselves darlings and remember they’ll still respect you in the morning because here's a smexy excerpt for your reading pleasure...
“Leif!” The wand fell unheeded from his hand, and Dan stumbled through the swirl of disturbed leaves, reaching for the other man. No, no, goddesses of the Underworld, please let him be all right.
Leif struggled to his knees. “I’m fine,” he gasped. “It knocked the wind out of me, and I’ll have a pretty good bruise on my back tomorrow, but I’m fine.”
Relief shivered through Dan. Leif made it to his feet, leaning against the tree for support. “Thanks. I owe you one.”
Dan took a small sip of breath, meaning to say…he didn’t even know, exactly. The moonlight cut across Leif’s features, revealing every plane of his high cheekbones, the delicate sweep of his brow. His long, pale hair tumbled about his face, tousled and utterly mad, like some fey spirit from the very dawn of time.
Safe. Safe, and relatively unhurt, and yet Dan’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Heat and cold boiled in his chest, until he wasn’t even sure where fear ended and relief began. Gods, Leif could have died if he’d hit the tree wrong, and Dan needed to say how fucking glad he was Leif was okay, but he couldn’t get the words out past the storm of emotion. He took a step forward, and another, until he could practically feel the heat of Leif’s body. Leif’s eyes widened slightly, pupils dilating. The tip of his tongue licked his lower lip.
The unconscious gesture snapped the hair-fine thread of Dan’s control. He pressed Leif back against the tree, needing to taste those lips just once, to feel Leif’s heartbeat, to know they were both warm and alive.
Leif’s mouth froze under his, and oh fuck, he’d screwed up. He started to pull away, to apologize, to rebuild whatever his impulsive action might have torn down.
Leif’s hands closed on his shoulders, and he returned the kiss with desperation, like this was something he needed just as bad. His lips were firm and supple, and tasted like the moonshine they had drunk and something else, something unique and indisputably masculine. The silver hoop in his lower lip was warm from his heat.
Gods, it was good, just what Dan needed. He leaned in tighter, felt Leif’s body against his, hard and sinewy through the layers of their clothing. Leif’s hands threaded through Dan’s hair, tugging and gripping, and he drew away just far enough to nip at Dan’s lip with his teeth, before diving back into the kiss again.
The After Glow Strut…
Website: http://www.jordanlhawk.com
Twitter: @jordanlhawk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jordanlhawk
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